Promise
by Kaien-Aerknard
Summary: "Living for you is my promise. What else should I fear after losing you? Only for you, I'm willing to suffer by this feeling; a feeling that puzzles me between its warmth and cold... in between its pain and happiness..."
1. Chapter 1

**The White Snake and The Azure Phoenix**

The scenery of the mist-covered Hengduan Mountains in the morning is like nature's grand paiting; with the tributaries of the Changjiang, Mekong and Salween rivers flowing down its slopes, yellowish ricefields covering the foot and the perpetual thick white snow wrapping the summits of Daxue Mountains.

Its quiet and peaceful state sooths the beings living in the mountains. The melodious chirps of the birds, rustling sounds of the leaves and grasses swayed by the soft breeze and splashes of waters smashing against the rocks accompanied greeting the morning sun.

A girl clad in white was sitting on a huge branch, enjoying the cool spring breeze. She is not just an ordinary woman, but the legendary white snake phantom.

The lower part of her body in form of white snake wrapped around the trunk, as if keeping her from falling. She hummed a song, swaying her body slightly following the cadence.

"Yin _dajie_," someone called her. The voice is deep, so it should be a man's. The white snake phantom, Cao Yin, stopped her humming, looked down to see the man. A smile crept up to her face, she waved her hand to the man below.

He was a man in his twenties with a handsome face, smooth black hair and a fair skin. Judging from his appearances, one could tell that he is not an ordinary man either.

The man sighed. "_Dajie_. How many times have I warned you that you should not be sitting; even standing, on such an open place?" he jumped to the branch above her. "Hunters from all over the country are hunting us down since the damned emperor found out about our very existence here."

"I can't even get any sleep from the stress," he thought.

"Zihuan… relax and enjoy the clear weather!"

"Easy to say," Cao Pi sat as he continued, "if you're caught, don't expect me to still be able to rescue you."

Cao Yin had the nerve to let out a chuckle. She was familiar with her adoptive brother's harsh manner of speech. She knew that behind those scathing words, Cao Pi was very concerned upon her safety. It's not that Cao Yin wanted to become a burden, but the cool spring breeze was just too hard to resist. After all, she's still wary of her surroundings.

The Emperor was a tyrant. He did not hesitate to force his own people to continue the construction of the Great Wall in the north, without being paid or even given a second to rest. Many died, but as if he was completely blind, he acted as their lives were merely worker ants.

And he desired an eternal life. In order to achieve it, he needed to make an elixir of immortality. A single drop of it was enough to live an eternal, long-lasting life without worries of being sick and died of murder. He needed Qin Shihuang's jade cup, fresh springs water from Mount Taishan, a drop of azure phoenix's and white snake's blood. That's why both of these mystical creatures were targeted with a fantastically high reward. Their blood was easier obtained by hunters, because their targets were always stayed side by side.

Cao Yin is the White Snake, while Cao Pi is the Azure Phoenix.

None of them willing to give even a single drop to the Emperor – _even if _the Emperor is a man with a golden heart.

"Zihuan!" Cao Yin exclaimed abruptly. "I saw something interesting down there!" she pointed towards the mountain slope.

_…__What now_, Cao Pi thought, shook his head in annoyance. "What? Green pandas?"

"No!"

Cao Yin hopped down, excitedly running towards the cliff. Once again, Cao Pi shook his head. A pair of azure wings grew on his back, every feather of his wings emitted white, tiny snowflakes. He spread his wings, showing how majestic a phoenix's wing is. He jumped, descending towards the place where his sister was.

"Zihuan, look!"

Cao Pi averted his eyes; spotted three young men were climbing the slope. He was relieved as he noticed that they were not carrying weapons, indicating that they were not hunters. Maybe just some sort of physician hunting for herbs. But, what made his sister as eager as a winner in some competition?

"See the tallest man," she said, still staring at the man deeply, like someone who was admiring the most beautiful jade under the Heavens.

Cao Pi raised his eyebrows in question. "…Don't tell me that you like him."

Spontaneously, her face flushed bright red, contrast against herself who dressed in white. Her blood was flowing faster as her heartbeat increased in speed with each passing seconds. The very core of her soul was tickled by a warm feeling, far warmer than what the spring could give; and also by an anxiety that made everything feels… weird… yet comfortable at the same time. She never felt such a feeling before for a hundred years of her life.

"Is this… what do they called 'Love'?" Cao Yin thought.

"_Deng dai yuan feng xu yao qian bai nian_

_Ai yi ge ren jiu zai yi shun xian"_

"He's nothing but a fool," Cao Pi snorted, brought back Cao Yin to the reality.

Cao Yin turned, frowned. "…You always mock people like that…"

"The truth," he replied.

Cao Yin sighed, deciding not to dig the hole deeper. Her attention attached to the man who unknowingly stole her entire world, consuming it with a warm yet gentle flame. She saw the man split from his friends, walked over, occasionally bent down, hunting for herbs.

Cao Pi sighed for the umpteenth time today, knowing that his sister would never be able to avert her eyes from that man.

"…I want to meet him…"

Cao Pi could hear what that woman said; how he wished that he was deaf. Cao Yin turned, put on a pleading face. Cao Pi groaned softly. He debated with himself whether he should comply his sister's wishes or not. After a long debate which felt like he was taking a thousand years, he surrendered.

"…As you wish," he replied.

Cao Yin was so happy that she hopped once, twice while yelling victory cry. Cao Pi just stood at his place, staring at her behavior which he must admitted – childish. But, this side of his sister brighten up his gloomy days, though sometimes, he was annoyed by it.

Now, he wondered why ever so suddenly, Cao Yin became as still as a statue. Didn't she say that she wanted to meet that man?

_Dear Heavens… dajie…_

"…" Cao Pi bent down, took a stone. Cao Yin noticed his movements, questioning what on earth he was going to do with that stone in his right hand. "Let me give you a hand to greet him."

Cao Pi squared off, he eyed as sharp as an eagle did when hunting down its prey. Realization struck her like a lightning, her eyes widen in reflex. She was about to stop her brother's reckless action, unfortunately, Cao Pi was way faster than her.

Her pair of sapphire orbs followed the direction of the stone, watched as it ascended high into midair, fell down into the forest. A scream followed in the next second, loud enough to stagger the birds that were resting in their nests. A body of a man fell from the cliff, straight into the river rushing harshly down there.

Ignoring her own safety, she jumped down, dived into the raging currents of Changjiang to save the man. Whereas Cao Pi stunned by his results, soon flew down following his sister. Yeah… his own action was a careless one which he did without much thinking about the consequences too.

Walls of waters were not a problem for Cao Yin. Her half-snake form allowed her to move freely yet swiftly in the water like fish does, piercing through layers of light blue liquid like an arrow. She was able to catch the helpless body before it reached the riverbed.

The man in her arms was between the borderline of life and death. And there's only one way to save him.

So, with her courage and will to save the man she loved, Cao Yin softly pressed her lips against the man's lips as she brought him to the surface.

She kissed the man not because of she wanted, but to save his life by giving him some of her life force to the unfortunate man.

Cao Yin embraced him tightly, leaned her head on his broad chest. She could hear his heart beating in a harmonic pace, she couldn't deny that she like it. She closed her eyes, her sense of hearing and feeling was lulled by the man's heartbeat.

She didn't know that the man regained his consciousness, and even though still in a half-conscious state, he could see a blurry image of her face before once again, darkness greeted him.

Moments later, both of their heads appeared to the surface. Cao Yin took a deep breath, staring at the handsome face of the man whose life she had saved. She smiled, glad that he was okay.

"I'm glad that you are doing just fine, dajie."

Cao Yin looked up, saw Cao Pi in his phoenix form. He grabbed both of them with his claws, carried them to the riverbank.

"This is all your fault, Zihuan!" she blamed him.

Cao Pi raised his shoulders, calmly replied, "I just intended to help you. Never thought he would end up falling into the river."

Cao Yin was about to retort but she had to cancel it as they had uninvited visitors were on their way to the riverbank. Shouts could be hear from afar, signifying that his friends were not far away. She had no option but to leave immediately and left the rest to the Heavens. When the man's friends arrived, they got no one else beside their unconscious friend lying on the riverbank.

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**Kaien-Aerknard presents**

**A Dynasty Warriors Fanfiction**

**[Promise]**

**"Living for you is my promise. What else should I fear after losing you? Only for you, I'm willing to suffer by this feeling; a feeling that puzzles me between its warmth and cold... in between its pain and happiness..."**

* * *

**Author's note: Hello, this is Kaien-Aerknard and I have been in Dynasty Warriors since around more than 3 years ago but this is my first time writing an English fanfiction for this fandom. I usually wrote in Indonesian (as that is my mother-tongue). My grammar is not really good that's why I never wanted to write English but due to some circumstances, I decided that I should write some LOL! I hope you are willing to help me improve my grammars X3**

**This fanfiction is based upon the White Snake Legend from China and also the adaptation movie entitled 'The White Snake and The Sorcerer'. The song I used here is the OST of the movie, 'Xu Nuo (Promise)'. I only used some lyrics for every chapter. You can find the translation of the lyrics from the internet X3. The Indonesian version of this fanfiction is already completed so I just translated it to English. There will be some minor changes here and there but overall, the story stays the same. **

**Cao Yin is my first original character for DW. In her original universe (Tales of the Steel Flower Priness), she is an adoptive daughter of Cao Cao (her real name is Luo Yinyue) and later serving as a general under his command. So basically, she is the adoptive (older) sister of Cao Pi. And in this AU story, she is still his adoptive sister. Cao Yin always calls Cao Pi with his courtesy name, Zihuan and the latter calls her as '_dajie_'. (Translations: _dajie_ \- big sister (the oldest one).)**

**And I paired her with Wen Yang because my friends seems like her with Wen Yang more than with Zhao Yun (though, I never had intentions to pair her with ZY but the Tales of the Steel Flower Princess' storyline makes them look like a couple tho).**

**Stay tuned!**

**Disclaimer: DW and its contents – KOEI; Cao Yin – Kaien-Aerknard.**

**Warnings: Folktale AU [Legend of the White Snake], White Snake!Cao Yin, Phoenix!Cao Pi, OOC may exist etc.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Two Monks**

Shortly after he woke up, Cao Pi felt a soothing aura filled up the atmosphere. He knew from where these aura came, who else if it's not from his sister? Or at least, as far as he knew, Cao Yin is the only one who had such a tender aura. But after the incident the day before, it grew gentler than how it usually was, far more gentle than the scents of the peach blossoms that bloomed simultaneously in the first day of spring.

Cao Pi turned around, saw that his sister was not on her bed. Actually, he wished to get some more sleep, fully rest his spent body after transformed into a phoenix the day before. Though only occurred for a short amount of time, the transformation cost much of his stamina, left him in a vulnerable state. And since the Emperor declared the order, he had to stay beside her everytime, ensuring her safety. He decided to get up, searching for his sister who was sitting on the roof, looked up to the sky while humming the same song over and over. A smile was there on her face, she seemingly enjoying the fine day.

"Good morning, Zihuan!" the White Snake greeted. She waved her hand enthusiastically as the smile grew wider. "Slept well? I tried to wake you up so you could enjoy the dawn with me, but no matter how hard I tried, you didn't even budge."

It's not that he didn't want, but his weakened state forced him to stay bedridden.

He watched her beaming face, a face that she usually put on. But this time, added with a slight flush on her cheeks. Cao Pi raised an eyebrow upon the slight changes on this expression. He jumped onto the roof, sat beside Cao Yin.

"You seemed so spirited," he said.

Cao Yin turned to face him. She landed a strong pat on his back. Strength of a phantom could not be measured only by their appearances. Cao Pi grunted in response.

"You should be more cheerful, Zihuan!" she adviced.

"…"

Nonetheless, all that he was showing on his face was that cold and stiff look of his. Cao Zihuan is not someone who was easy to provoke, he rarely shown any emotion beside that face. His smiles occurred once in a blue moon, his expression changed ever so slightly from time to time. Though, in front of his sister, he's a little more expressive.

Cao Yin took a deep breath, exhaled quietly. A pair of blue orbs were being pampered by the beautiful scenery of lush green Hengduan Mountains, as if it was never touched by the humans.

There's only one thing in her mind from that day; it was the man whom she saved. Her lips widen in a shy smile, she couldn't help but to giggle as she suddenly felt being tickled by some invisible hands.

_This warm, weird feeling… it makes me feel contented, nervous and..._

"I… wanted to meet him again…" she turned around, moving closer. "Zihuan! Let's go to Chengdu tonight! He must be there too!"

Cao Pi knew that sooner or later, he would hear this sentence. He dared himself to take a glance, saw how drastic the expression has changed, he could say that the drastic change was like leap over a thousand stairs in a single jump.

"I hate to say this but, you are not allowed."

"But… but…"

He had a reason to reject it. Chengdu is a huge city with more than one million people in it. They did not know how much hunters were mingling with them, and if they were found out, there would be bloodshed and chaos in Chengdu. Even if they managed to escape, the news of their appearances would strengthen the Emperor's assumption about their presences in Sichuan.

Cao Pi averted his pair of azure orbs, he didn't want his decision waved by those pleading eyes of his sister's. An eye contact in a split second would tear him apart, causing Cao Pi to once again debating between two decisions; 'yes', or 'no'.

"Duanwu Festival is near too!" Cao Yin patted his shoulder. "That means there are some grape wines in stock! We should go and buy some, Zihuan!"

_Damn! She knows how to turn me into submission!_

Cao Yin smirked victoriously. She knew that her brother would not be able to resist when it comes to grape products; wine is one of them.

He was ashamed to admit his defeat. He turned his head, trying to hide the slight flush on his face, nodded.

Cao Yin gained a total victory over her brother.

She jumped down, dancing and humming a song as her victory pose. That left Cao Pi speechless as he could only stare blankly at her childish behavior. He chuckled, smiled slightly in satisfaction.

Well, out for some fresh air isn't a bad idea either, the Azure Phoenix thought. He looked up, watched the soft white cotton ball passing slowly across the blue sky. He hoped that he would not regret his decision later.

But, there's something that bothered him since a few moments ago. And that is…

"How do you know that fool is going to Chengdu tonight?"

Cao Yin chuckled. "It's a secret," she replied. With a playful smile on her face, she hopped from one branch to another, leaving Cao Pi all alone. He stood up, gave a chase to his sister who loves to went off somewhere at her heart's content.

_ "Dui ni mi lian, shi yi chang mao xian…_

_Wo xin gan qing yuan zai hong chen gen qian…"_

…

…

…

"Ciqian!"

A short statured young man walked towards the tall young man who was sitting at the edge of the pier at the riverbank, what he currently was dreaming, only he and the Heavens knew.

Wen Yang turned, saw his friend sat beside him. "Good morning, Zhongquan," he greeted, a smile plastered on his face.

"What are you engrossing yourself in, Wen Yang? You seem… happy upon something... How to say it… uh… like a drunkard?"

"That means he's lovesick!" a voice responded from behind, startled them. They turned around, glanced at the man who interrupted their conversation. The interrupter was a man in his early twenties, has a slim body and fair skin. His steps were like a person in his sweet dreams.

Wen Yang's face began to flush bright red. He turned, looked fixedly at his own reflection on the clear surface of Changjiang.

"Brother Du Kang!" Xiahou Zhongquan alias Xiahou Ba greeted. He waved his hand to the young man who excels in herbs and toxicology… aside from he was a drunkard who was able to gulp down ten barrels of wine.

"Zhongquan! Ciqian!" he greeted back. He sat beside Wen Yang, bent down slightly, laughing out loud heartily found how red his friend's face is. His stomach and back began to hurt, tears rolling down his cheeks from his tightly closed eyes. Whereas all Wen Yang could afford was biting hard his lip in embarrassment.

"You fell into the river yesterday and being like this since then!" Du Kang patted his shoulder, made him gasped in slight surprise. "A penny of your thoughts, Ciqian. Did you manage to go to the Heavens and find a pretty Goddess whose beauty is unparalleled by those flowers from the earth?"

Wen Yang stuttered. "E-… even if I told you, I'm sure that you won't believe in me!"

"Hmm? So you DID manage to go to the Heavens?! Wow! How lucky of you!" once again, he landed a hard smack on Wen Yang's back. "Alas, you can bring no Goddess down to the earth."

"It's not like what you are thinking!" Wen Yang was getting annoyed being teased constantly by the drunkard. "Yesterday…" Wen Yang locked gazes with his own reflection on the calm currents of the clear river. "…I was saved from drowning… by a pretty young lady…"

Du Kang was almost chocked by the wine he was drinking, as for Xiahou Ba, he was dumbfounded.

"My lifesaver was the prettiest lady I have ever seen… clad in white, her flawless face, hair like silk and a pair of sweet red lips…

So, who is the drunkard? Wen Ciqian? Or Du Kang?

It seemed that both of his friends didn't have to go far away to Wuyuan just to adore the spring. Just by staying close to a daydreaming Wen Yang, they could experience the best spring in their short life. They didn't even bother if what Wen Yang saw was merely a hallucination, they just let Wen Yang be for the mean time.

"We should go for some rest now!" Xiahou Ba stood upright, taking steps to leave the pier. "Tonight, we are going to party in Chengdu, aren't we?"

Du Kang raised his fist, as if he was trying to punch the azure sky above. "WINE AND WOMEN! HERE COMES DU KANG TO CLAIM YOU ALL!" he shouted with such a passion.

Xiahou Ba patted his forehead, while Wen Yang was not disturbed from his own small world.

Wen Yang tried to remember every inch of his lifesaver, it was as difficult as scraping old memories from long time ago. He could only remember the silk-like black hair of hers, a pair of soft red lips touching his and a smile which made his heart pounding, while his soul screaming in pure joy.

How much he wanted to meet his lifesaver again. He wanted to know her name, age… anything about her.

_She… she was like a Goddess descended from the Heavens just to save my life… I… I wanted to meet her again…_

"Hey…!"

Wen Yang was still attached to his dreamland.

"HEY…!"

"CIQIAN!" a powerful smack from Xiahou Ba pulled him out of his dreamland. Wen Yang gasped, shook his head. "There's someone calling us from the other side of the river! From their looks, they are monks. I think they need our help to get across."

Wen Yang turned, saw two monks standing at the other side of the river. He hastened his pace, get into the boat and drove it to where the monks were.

"Ah! Thank you so much!" the younger monk ran towards his boat. "We are so sorry for troubling you but we need to get across!"

"Zhao," the older monk walked to the younger monk's side. "Keep your voice down. And, sir," he bowed to Wen Yang, "we are grateful for your assistance."

Wen Yang smiled. "You're not troubling us at all."

Both monks got into the boat, went across the river. On the way, they began some conversations by introducing themselves. The older monk is Sima Ziyuan alias Sima Shi, his rosary name is 'Fahai', and the other one is his younger brother, Sima Zishang alias Sima Zhao. Both of them came from the Jinshan Temple, located in the Jinshan Island as the name implies. They are not just any monks who sits and read _sutras_, they were in charge of hunting down evil phantoms and seal them in the Leifeng Pagoda to repent their sins.

Sima Shi noticed that the boat was full of baskets of herbs. He picked a honeysuckle flower, observed it carefully as if inspecting the pureness of a piece of gold bar. "You are a physician?"

Wen Yang nodded. "Yes, I am."

"I thought you are a sailor or a fisherman!" exclaimed Sima Zhao.

Wen Yang let out a chuckle. "Do I look like a fisherman or a sailor?" he joked.

"You're from Shouchun?" Sima Shi asked, still observing the flower for some time before it was carried by the wind, landed on the water surface behind.

Wen Yang nodded. "I came here because Sichuan has a massive amounts of herbs."

"You came far away for that…" Sima Zhao murmered. "Ah… that reminds me. Brother Wen, what is your life goal?"

"Hmm… I'm aiming to become a great physician like my father did!"

"Wow! That great!" he praised, then turned to his brother. "Big brother! If you have a backache, you should seek brother Wen instead!"

Sima Shi chose to remain silent.

"Then, what is your dream, Zhao?" asked his brother.

"Me? I wanted to become a abbot from Jinshan Temple-"

"Did you just wish me to live a short life?"

"Ah-… that… that's not it!"

Sima Shi raised his hand slightly, began to count with his fingers. Sima Zhao watched with a look of perplexity on his face, trying to understand what on earth was his brother doing.

"I'm counting my days," Sima Shi replied calmly.

"Don't scare me like that!"

"Isn't it should be me who said that? You're the one who wished me a short life."

"Dear Heavens!"

Wen Yang could not help but to let out another light chuckle, gaining attention from the Sima brothers who soon followed him with a light laughter. When they arrived at the other side, both of the monks got off the boat, wishing him good luck and continued their journey.

**To Be Continued…**

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**Author's note: I finished this translation just in two days... well, that's pretty fast. This chapter was originally more than 4k words long but I decided to separate it into two chapters.**

**For those who don't know about Duanwu Festival, it is known as the 'Dragon Boat Festival'. Duanwu Festival is celebrated in honor of the Chu kingdom's adviser, Qu Yuan. Also, you have to eat the zongzi (sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves) and drink the realgar wine (you don't have to drink this since realgar was said could harm one's body).**

**Du Kang here is my OC who originates from the founder of wine, Du Kang. While the real Du Kang is a founder of wine, my Du Kang is a physician (and a drunkard). I ever posted his sketch on my IG (Kaien-Aerknard), feel free to check out his looks lol X3**

**And... my headcanon is that Wen Yang and Xiahou Ba are buddies. In most of the AU stories I made, both of them are doing well with Sima Zhao too, as Sima Zhao has this friendly attitude.**

**Actually, I thought that Wen Yang basically has no real personality besides he is kind, brave and calm. He's more like a empty plastic bag that you can fill with anything. I saw that most of his fanarts in Pixiv characterized him as a... how do you say it... uh... funny fellow? Like... he was easily flushed, embarrassed and such.**

**Stay tuned! Reviews are much appreciated!**


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